2013 Ford Mustang - The Kenny Brown AGS

The scene is the Heidt's Performance Challenge on a blustery but clear day in May at the Autobahn Country Club track outside Joliet, Illinois. Kenny Brown invited us to take a ride and later drive his 2013 Mustang that's outfitted with his latest Advanced Geometry System (AGS) 4.0 GT-4 RS suspension. This is the other side of the street from going fast in a straight line. With complete acknowledgement of the difficulties of drag racing and an understanding bow to every accomplished drag racer in the world, turning corners is a lot more challenging to do correctly. We've driven plenty of cars that can take a corner well, but once we got behind the wheel of this normally aspirated, Coyote-powered Mustang, it was nothing less than a four-lap thrill. The Mustang is equipped with Brown's complete suspension upgrade for the 2005–13 Mustangs, and this thing is glued to the ground. This is no stripped-down race car, either. It is complete with power windows and A/C, but after one quick warm-up lap to put some heat in the tires, it only took a half-lap to begin running down some slower cars on track.

2/5Stock Coyote engines don’t look this good. Kenny has made a few modifications to the stock Coyote, including long-tube headers and this Boss 302 intake and cold-air package, all contributing to its 495 hp.

Brown's approach to building a quick track car is as simple as it is murderously effective. "I designed the suspension so you can accelerate off the corner earlier, which effectively lengthens the straightaway. Then, we use big brakes to allow you to dive in deeper in the corner, which also lengthens the straight. Plus, when you can close up on a car under braking by two or three car lengths, it usually intimidates that guy in front of you!" Combine the suspension with a 7,800-rpm normally aspirated Coyote engine and the production six-speed with a good clutch, and you have a the makings of a very quick performance machine. The AGS4.0 GT-4 suspension was completely predictable and did nothing but challenge us to carry even more speed into and out of each corner. Complementing the suspension was an absolutely stellar set of 14-inch rotor Baer six-piston brakes that only inspired even more confidence—and let us not forget the Pirelli P-Zero Corsa DOT-legal 295/30ZR19 front and 305/30ZR19 rear race tires, which certainly added to the overall effort.

If you're a little too conservative to strip a brand-new Mustang and replace virtually its entire suspension and brakes while still making car payments, Kenny has a plan for that, too. During our conversation, Brown mentioned that you could easily use this same approach on a pedestrian 2005 six-cylinder Mustang. Just upgrade the suspension a few bits at a time until you have the makings of slot car. Then, swap in a Coyote crate engine and a Tremec Magnum XL six-speed, and you'd have a front-row qualifier at track days that might fool some of the people—most of the time!